Elizabeth City Councilwoman Lena Hill-Lawrence is asking a broad cross-section of the community to join together in offering grief counseling and assistance to youth who are grieving the loss of DaJuan Brown in a shooting last weekend.
A press release that Hill-Lawrence issued Thursday afternoon calls specifically on pastors, church leaders, community agencies, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, Elizabeth City State University and Mid-Atlantic State University to provide assistance to the youth affected by Brown’s death.
Brown, 18, died at Sentara Hospital after being shot in the city’s Oak Grove neighborhood. A second shooting victim, Arron Lightfoot, 20, was taken to Sentara with a gunshot wound in the abdomen.
Two others, Sharmon Green, 20, and a 15-year-old, were treated and released at Albemarle Hospital.
Antonio West, 21, of Hertford, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with Brown’s death.
Hill-Lawrence told The Daily Advance she is working with Integrated Family Services to organize a “debriefing” during which trained counselors can determine which youth are experiencing the normal grieving process and which might be facing more severe trauma that could require professional treatment.
Integrated Family Services provides mobile crisis services in the area through a contract with East Carolina Behavioral Health. Staff from East Carolina Behavioral Health put Integrated Family Services in touch with Hill-Lawrence after learning of the 4th Ward city councilor’s interest in making counseling services available to youth troubled by Brown’s death.
